My Life as A Delinquent
by alliclaire
Summary: So, this is what my life has come to. At 17 years old, I'm being sent to train at The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center to keep my butt out of jail. And what can I do about it? Nothing.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, I'm Alli. This is my first Fan Fic for MIOBI. I have one on the One Tree Hill board but I'm having major writers block currently. I have this idea for a MIOBI Fic and I hope you guys like it. Most of the original characters will be in it but I'm adding a few of my own. I hope you enjoy it. Please, let me know what you think.

"Steph? Are you listening to me? You really don't have any other options here." Melissa said from the other side of the desk.

"Yeah Mel, I hear you. I'm just not doing it. I swore I would never do gymnastics again. There's no way that I'm doing this."

"Even if it keeps you out of jail?"

"Even then. And especially not in Boulder, Colorado. Who the hell is Sasha Belov anyway?" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. In all actuality, I knew exactly who he was. I was completely in awe of him. 4 Olympic Gold medals. I couldn't even imagine it. But I had given up gymnastics a long time ago. There was no hope for me to feel that weight on my neck.

"Stephanie, the only way I can help you is if you give me the whole story about what happened at that house. I know you weren't the only one there. So just tell me."

"I told you Mel, I'm not going to rat on my friends."

"Steph, you know I love you. So you know that I'll do anything I can to help your friends as well. You just need to tell me what happened."

"Ok. I'll tell you. But you're not going to like it. Just don't freak out ok?"

3 weeks earlier.

"Steph, you go around back and see if you can get in. I'll pick the lock up here." Brad said from the door.

"Ok." I said running around the back of the house. I pushed the door open easily and walked inside, happy to be out of the chilly October weather.

I made my way to the front door and opened it for my two best friends, Brad and Sarah. They're my world.

"So Steph, are you going to show us how you kill the mic tonight?" Sarah asked bumping my hip as we picked up the microphone stands and started carrying them to the roof. We were in a band called 'Suburban Thunder' and that night we were holding a concert at one of the foreclosure houses in a subdivision outside of town.

"Hell yes." I said laughing. A few hours later, we were set up and ready to rock the roof.

"How you doin' tonight Colorado Springs? I'm Steph and we're 'Suburban Thunder'!" I yelled into the microphone. The crowd started screaming as we started to play. The rush from the crowd was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was almost euphoric. That is, until the cops showed up. People scattered in all directions and there was yelling and screaming. All I could do was stand there and watch it all happen. I knew I should've run. I had a record and this was my, well, eighth strike. It helps a little bit when you're stepmother is a lawyer and can get you out of almost anything.

The police eventually got to me and took me into custody for B&E and minor consumption. I spent three nights in juvie on lockdown because my dad was out of town and Melissa couldn't pick me up because she wasn't my parent or guardian. Lame.

By the time I was finally released, my father, Jonathon Moore, already had a plan in motion.

"Stephanie, Melissa spent all weekend on the phone with the judge and unless you want to spend the next five years in prison, not just juvenile hall, you have to take this deal. You will tell Melissa what exactly happened in that house." He said from behind his desk after we had gotten back to our house.

"That's it?" I asked in amazement. I had been made to do some really horrible forms of community service in my years as a juvenile delinquent. Working in Mel's office, where my dad and she met my first round of community service had been the worst I had ever done. And I've physical labor as well. Me in a lawyer's office was never something to smile about.

"Well, no Steph. That's not all." Melissa said from her perch on the edge of my dad's desk.

"We're sending you to The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Club where you will train with Coach Sasha Belov and try to get yourself under control. The Rock is in Boulder, Colorado so you will be staying with a colleague of mine whose daughter trains there as well. Stephanie, this is your last chance. Mel is not going to be able to get you out of trouble anymore. You're almost 18, you're lucky they aren't going to try you as an adult this time."

"No, I won't do it. I won't go. I gave up gymnastics a long time ago and I swore I would never touch an apparatus again. You can't do this to me Dad. Mel, please, talk to him. This is crazy!" I said to Mel as I stood up.

"Steph, there's really nothing I can do sweetie. Your father and I just want what's best for you. Think about how much you hate juvie and multiply it by like 50, then you'll understand how awful real jail is. At least you'll be doing something you love right?" She said, hoping to help a little bit I guess. She didn't, all she did was piss me off more.

"NO!" I exploded, "I don't love gymnastics! I haven't since my parents got divorced! That's why I quit! God! You know, it would be nice to get a little understanding from you Mel. You've always been on my side before." I said sarcastically as I paced the room, I admit, stomping like a two year old.

"Now you listen to me Stephanie Rose Moore, you will not speak to her like that. Not in my house. This is final Stephanie. I would love to tell you that everything is going to be alright but if you don't do this, you will go to jail. And I don't want to spend Christmas visiting you in jail." My dad said. And then, he got up from his desk and walked out of the room signaling the end of the conversation. I silently nodded to myself and got up slowly, leaving the room, and apparently, my dignity, behind. I had to go to Boulder. But that didn't mean I had to like it. Or be civil about it.

Present.

"But I didn't actually break in. The back door was unlocked when I got there Mel, I swear. Please, don't let Dad send me to Boulder. I can't handle it." I pleaded. "I haven't even done a cartwheel in three years. There's no way that Coach Belov would ever want to coach me when he's got 4 girls on the Worlds team and the Men's National Champion on his team already. What would he want with a has been who choked and then walked out on her team? Please Mel, please help me."

"I've done all I can for you Steph. I've gotten you out of this a dozen times. There's nothing else I can do, my hands are tied. Your father has made up his mind and you're off to Boulder on Monday. But the good news is this; the judge said that if you show some real improvement at the Rock then we can talk about getting your record expunged. You'll be free of your past." She said patting my hand reassuringly across the table. "You should start packing." She said getting up from the table and putting her mug in the dishwasher.

So, this is what my life has come to. At 17 years old, I'm being sent to train at The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Club to keep my butt out of jail. My father doesn't understand me; I haven't spoken to my mother in years, except for the occasional phone call and card on my birthday. I'm screwed. Just as I was getting my life together in Colorado Springs, my father decides to uproot me an hour and a half away from my life. And what can I do about it? Nothing. I'm stuck in this suck fest and it's completely my fault. Maybe if I had just run when I should have instead of just standing there like an idiot it might be different. So instead of continuing to argue, I started packing. That was all I could do right?

When Monday morning came around, I was less than thrilled about the idea of being in a car with my dad for more than just a few minutes.

"Stephanie Rose Moore, get down here now. I'd like to beat the traffic!" My father hollered from outside as I stood in front of my mirror trying to decide on the perfect way to deal with this. Do I cry and hug them both before they leave? Make them really miss me? Or do I throw a fit and whine all the way there and through the whole meet and greet crap with Coach Belov. Or maybe a combination of both. Either way, for the next hour and a half, I was completely silent in the backseat with my ear buds placed securely in my ears and my music up to full blast to drown out the incessant chatter from the front seat.

"So Stephy, are you excited?" My dad asked like it was my first day of kindergarten.

"Oh yeah Dad, I'm stoked." I said rolling my eyes as I got out of car and stretched my stiff muscles. Muscles that would soon hurt in a different way and that was what I was looking forward to the most about this stupid place.

"Stephanie, this is Steve Tanner, a colleague of mine and his fiancé Summer. Steve, Summer, this is my daughter Stephanie. Steph, you're going to be staying with Steve, Summer and his daughter Lauren while you're training here at the Rock. I'm sure you will be on your best behavior. Right Steph?" My dad rambled.

"Of course Daddy." I said rolling my eyes to the sign over the front door.

"Well Stephanie, it's really nice to meet you. I'm so glad you'll be staying with us. Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." Summer said sticking her hand out toward me.

"Yeah, you too. And it's Steph, by the way." I said staring at her hand.

"Right, Steph. Why don't you follow me and I'll introduce you to Sasha?" Steve said trying to lighten the conversation. Though any talk about gymnastics seemed to make things worse anymore so as much as I appreciated his effort, it didn't help. But instead of arguing, I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and followed him into the gym.

The stares and whispers were almost bearable. A lot easier than I thought it would be after what I did. Maybe I was trying too hard to seem standoffish. So, I quietly took my hood off my head, pulled the buds out of my ears and threw my ipod into my bag. Didn't help, they were still whispering.

"Sasha, I'm sorry to interrupt but I wanted to introduce you to someone." I heard Mr. Tanner say while I started off into space.

"Look Tanner, I really don't have time for this. The girls have Nationals in three weeks and I can't afford to take a break. Whoever it is, they'll just have to wait." I heard a British accent, that I assumed belonged to Sasha Belov, say.

"Sasha, Stephanie Moore is here. I'm pretty sure you can take five minutes for a meet and greet. A tour perhaps." Mr. Tanner said, practically demanding that he talk to me. Great, even the coach didn't want me hear. Well, at least we're all on the same page.

"Fine. Emily, that's starting to look better, five more then move on and Lauren, take her place." Coach Belov directed before turning his attention back to Mr. Tanner.

"See Steph? Maybe it won't be so bad here." Mel said, patting my shoulder reassuringly.

"Right, maybe it will be a little less than the pure torture I thought it would be." I said, rolling my eyes at her.

"Sasha Belov, this is Jonathon and Melissa Moore and John's daughter Stephanie."

"It's nice to meet you Coach Belov. We've heard great things about you." My dad said extending his had to him.

"Thank you sir. We'll all take good care of your daughter, nothing to worry about." He said, shaking his hand and addressing the obvious fear in my father's eyes.

"Oh, we don't doubt it." Mel said, shaking his hand as well.

"Hello Stephanie." Coach Belov said putting his hand out toward me.

"Hey." I said as I stared at his hand.

"Right, well, why don't we take this to my office? Stephanie, you can stay here and observe if you'd like. Just don't disturb anyone."

"Sure, I'll stay here with the inmates while the wardens talk." I said smiling sarcastically and pulling my ipod back out of my bag before sitting on the edge of a pile of mats.

"Who the hell does she think she is? And since when does Sasha not say anything about the mouthing off?" I heard a disgusted fake blonde say from the beam.

"You don't know who that is? It's Stephanie Moore. She's the girl who choked at World's in '07 and walked out on her team right before their last rotation. Come on Lo, we watched at my house. The whole place went crazy." I heard the brunette next to her say.

"Wait, THAT'S her. I thought she was shorter. And less round." The blonde said.

"I'm sorry, do you have a problem?" I said looking right at them.

"What? No. Sorry." The brunette said.

"That's what I thought." I said sitting back and closing my eyes. Nothing like the smell of chalk and desperation to make you suddenly exhausted.

Ok, so that's the end of chapter 1. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll have more posted really soon. I've already started writing it so maybe tonight or tomorrow? I love this story idea so I really hope you all do too! Please review, I want to know what you think and constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks guys, Alli.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Yes, I do realize that the plot is a lot like the movie Stick It. It will turn away from that in the future though. I have a lot of ideas that are purely my own. But for now, thank you to the creator of Stick It for being awesome, because you own it lol.. =D. Sorry for upsetting anyone. But now, on to chapter 2. Hope you enjoy it =D Oh and P.S. I don't own anything of MIOBI. ABC Family and Holly Sorenson are boss =].

"Steph, we're going now." Mel said as she pulled my bud out of my ear.

"Oh, ok. I'll just grab my things." I said as I stood up and looked at the clock. 4:30. I must have fallen asleep.

"Actually Stephanie, you'll be staying after with me tonight." I heard Coach Belov say from the deck above where I was sitting.

"You're serious? I just got here and I'm already starting to train?" I asked him in disbelief.

"Yes. Now go say goodbye to your Mum and Dad so we can get started." He said pushing off the railing and walking back into his office.

I walked outside with Mel and hugged her tight.

"Have fun baby. We'll miss you so much." Mel said as she kissed my temple.

"I'll miss you too. But fun is definitely not happening. I'd rather have bamboo stuck under my fingernails." I said, naming the worst torture I could think of.

"Oh Stephanie, quit being so dramatic. You'll be fine." My dad said as he pulled my bags out of the back of his truck and walked them over to the Tanners' truck.

"Wow Dad, thank you so much for your lack of support." I said rolling my eyes over to him.

"Daddy? What's going on?" I heard the blonde from earlier saying as she walked out of them gym.

"Oh Lauren, there you are. This is Stephanie Moore. She's going to be staying with us while she's training at the Rock with you girls. Isn't that exciting?" Mr. Tanner said in a pleading tone.

"No." Lauren shrieked as she walked toward the brunette from earlier who was getting into a Mercedes convertible.

"I guess we know who wears the pants in that relationship." I whispered to Mel who started giggling next to me.

"Right well, give me a hug baby." My dad said coming toward me with his arms extended. I walked into his arms and put mine around his waist.

"You'll be fine honey. And things will be back to normal before you know it. Now, go make us proud." He said pulling away from the hug and kissing my forehead lightly.

"Right, of course Dad. My success is all about you right? Have a safe trip back." I said backing away from him and waving at Melissa.

"Love you Baby." She yelled from the passenger seat.

"Love you too." If I could have picked my mother, Mel would've been her. She's perfect. Beautiful, smart, caring, loving and most important, her love is unconditional. Not just because I do well. There's no one that I love more than I love Mel. She and my dad have only been married about a year and a half but it's been the best.

"Stephanie, Sasha has our number so just have him call us when you're done and someone will come pick you up." I heard Mr. Tanner say from the drivers' seat of his Escalade.

"Ok, thanks Mr. Tanner."

"Please, call me Steve."

"Thanks Steve, but I've got it from here." Sasha said from his sudden place beside me. I turned and looked at him standing there with his hands in his pockets. God was he attractive. No, focus Steph, he's your coach, I told myself. But I don't want to be here. So is he technically? I continued this inner battle for a few seconds before Steve interrupted my thoughts.

"Right, see you later Stephanie." He said as he reversed out of the parking lot, followed by my dad and Mel who waved enthusiastically. I waved back before feeling a sudden surge of panic. This was the first time I'd been away from them for so long. I felt my heart speed up and my breathing get a little heavy.

"Are you alright?" Sasha said beside me.

"Fine." I lied, walking back toward the door.

"Well, go change then." He said opening the door for me a standing against it.

"Ok." I said squeezing past him and walking toward the locker room. I walked in and changed quickly into a pair of short shorts and a ratty t-shirt with the neck cut out of it so it rode off one shoulder slightly.

"No, go put on a leotard please. You won't be training in my gym like that." He said shaking his head at my attire.

"Well, then I guess I'm not training in your gym then. I don't have any leos." I said putting my hands on my hips and staring at him.

"Where are they?" He asked impatiently, taking up a stance about as defensive, and a lot more intimidating, as mine.

"They're probably a tree or something by now. It's been three years. And they were dust anyway."

"What? You burned them?"

"Ceremonial burning." I said smiling smugly at him.

"Huh. I guess I'm not all that surprised, with your reputation. I guess I should've expected you to come out here naked." He said sarcastically before ordering me to stretch.

"So, we have some rules here that we need to address. The most important being no legal trouble, no jobs. No dating while training…"

"Wait, wait, wait. No dating while training? Are you crazy? Do you actually think anyone follows that? If you do, you're nuts. And no jobs? How am I supposed to do anything with no money? We're not all rich around here." I exclaimed from the mats.

"Yeah well, you should've thought of that before Daddy left." He said rolling his eyes at me. Ok, so this guy is a total hard ass. It should be fun trying to break him. I'm always up for a challenge.

"Your studies are equally as important as your training." He continued.

"I got my GED last year. I had the highest score in English and Writing that Colorado has ever seen." I said smugly as I started stretching my hamstrings.

"I suppose you're waiting for me to be impressed? Show me that you can follow the rules with no problems, and then I might be." He said crossing his arms over his chest as he paced in front of me.

"And finally, I expect respect. Not just toward me but toward your team mates as well. We're your family now. You will be spending at least 10 hours a day with us and then at least 2 more with me after everyone else leaves. So, I expect you to be nice, courteous and respectful toward everyone here."

"You want me to be here least 12 hours a day? Are you on crack? And you want what, 10 hours of sleep a night? So, I'm supposed to have two hours just for myself a day? You're crazy. This whole place is frickin' crazy." I practically shouted.

"Are you finished?"

"NO! Look, I understand, you're the great Sasha Belov. Olympic gold medalist, blah, blah, blah; but I'm not just some gymnastics doing puppet that you can order around all day! And you're not my family. My family, who is my two best friends, is back in Colorado Springs. Where I should be!" I shouted at him, standing up quickly.

"And you would be if you hadn't broken into that house. You also would be if your stepmother wasn't a lawyer and able to get you out of whatever jam you get yourself into." He interrupted walking toward me.

"That's not fair! Mel loves me and she would do anything for me!"

"And yet you don't include her in your family? She would do anything for you and you don't include her. Or your father who put everything on the line to get you in here to train with me?" He said as he got to me on the mats, where he towered over me.

"No. Because I should be able to trust my family and I can't trust my father and I don't know Mel well enough to trust her." I said getting up on top of a few mats so I was looking directly into his face.

"So you trust your friends? You mean the friends that left you in that house to fend for yourself? The friends who didn't love you enough to either come back for you or to give themselves up to get you out of trouble? Yeah Stephanie, they sound great to me." He roared into my face.

"Look Coach Belov," I started.

"No!" he interrupted pointing his finger into my face, "Don't call me that unless you're willing to treat me with the respect you should treat me with; or unless you're willing to trust me to put you where you need to be to get somewhere."

"How am I supposed to trust you? I don't even know you!"

"You've got bloody issues you know that?" He asked backing away so I could get down.

"Yeah, I bloody do. And they're all thanks to my bloody parents." I said making fun of his Britishness.

He sat down and patted the mat next to him, where I sat crossing my arms before he continued, "Look, Steph, I know it's hard to trust people when they do things to hurt you. Believe me; I've gone through it my whole life. But all that does is stunt your growth. Not your physical growth but your growth as a person. You become bitter and angry, and as good as the anger would be for your gymnastics, it's not so good to act like a bitch with your coach and your team mates. Because contrary to popular belief, we are your family now. We'll treat you like family if you treat us like family. Now, go show me your vault." He said standing and offering his hand to pull me up.

I determined silently that I didn't like him and I would do anything to be completely disrespectful until I broke him. It was going to be a battle, but I was ready for it.

I stood at the end of the run and ran straight toward the horse with no hesitation. When I got there, I pivoted myself over the top and landed, blind, after doing a one and a half twist.

"Not bad after three years huh?" I asked smugly as I saluted.

"Don't get too cocky. You've gained at least 15 pounds and about three inches. We need to get you into better shape before you kill yourself. It looked rusty and sloppy. How long has it been since you went for a jog?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"How long has it been since I quit gymnastics?" I asked sarcastically.

"You need to control yourself. Let's see your beam. We'll come back to vault later." He said. So, for the next three hours, I went from apparatus to apparatus most of the time falling on my face in the process. I walked away with bruises on my thighs bigger than I'd ever had before and gashes all over my arms and hands from the rope burn.

"I hate conditioning." I said, fingering a blister that had started appearing on my hand, as Sasha dialed the Tanners number. He laughed loudly.

"Hi Summer, it's Sasha. I was just calling to let you know that Steph is done for the night… Ok, I'll let her know. Thanks." He hung up and grabbed his jacket and keys.

"Summer is on her way. Come on, help me lock up."

"Seriously? Haven't you put me through enough torture today?" I asked lagging behind him looking at another bruise that was coming up on my leg.

"Oh stop whining and come on." He said as he turned off the lights and locked up the front door.

"I'm sorry, who the hell lives in a trailer outside of a gymnastics club? What a frickin' creeper." I said mostly to myself.

"Uh, I would be that creeper. And I like a short commute."

"Oh right. Well, as long as it's good for the environment." I said and then cringed in regret as he started laughing at me.

Five minutes of awkward silences and mindless sarcastic banter later, Summer finally pulled up in her BMW convertible.

"Dude, you live in the effing mountains and you're driving a convertible? Because THAT'S not completely ostentatious and impractical or anything." I said rolling my eyes as Sasha laughed quietly next to me, which made me smile. I liked his laugh. Too bad he didn't do it very often. Yet another challenge.

"Hey Steph! You ready honey?" Summer said way too excitedly as she pulled up to the building.

"Yeah. Thanks Coach Belov. See you tomorrow." I said looking at him, waiting for him to challenge me on it again.

"Goodnight ladies." He said as he walked off to his trailer.

'That man is so dedicated to this place. He even lives in that trailer over there!" Summer exclaimed in that voice that made you completely know that she was trying way too hard to be liked. The rest of the car ride was worse than the conditioning I'd just endured. Summer asked me about my religious beliefs and when I told her I didn't have any, she automatically launched into a story about how she didn't used to either but that she was a huge slut in high school and changed her ways after some guy she liked dissed her or something. Oh my God. I wanted to shoot myself in the face.

"Here we are. Let's go inside and get you settled huh?" She said as we pulled into a massive house. No wonder they could afford to take me in. When we got inside, she immediately sat me down with a huge plate of food in front of me. I don't even know what it was, but I ate it. I was famished. After gulping down a huge glass of water, Summer took my plate and set it in the dishwasher and set it up to run.

"Come on, I'll show you your room. You must be exhausted." I followed her up the stairs and we walked into a huge room with an equally huge bed and an even bigger closet. With its own bathroom and intercom. Whaaaa? I was pretty sure I was in heaven.

"We're all pretty early risers because Lauren has to be at The Rock at 5am. So, we'll be turning in soon. You probably should too. There are fresh towels in the bathroom and I think you have everything you'll need. But let me know if there's anything else." She said smiling.

"I think I'm good. Thanks." I said looking around the room again.

"Ok, goodnight Steph."

"Night." I said as she closed the door. That night, I took a bath, and it was the best feeling I'd ever had. EVER. I dried my hair trying to be as quiet as possible but there was a banging on my door right after I finished. I opened the door to apologize but when I saw who it was, I reconsidered.

"Are you seriously blow drying your hair at 9:30 at night?" Lauren said bursting into my room with the brunette from earlier in tow.

"Hey Lauren, come on in." I said sarcastically as I shut the door behind the unidentified girl.

"Because that's like, so rude. My dad and Summer go to bed early." Lauren said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hi, I'm Kaylie Cruz. I'm a huge fan." The brunette said putting her hand out.

"Uh hi, I assume you know who I am." I said crossing my arms over my chest and cocking my hip to the side.

"Yeah, I do. You're Stephanie Moore. Me, Lo and another one of our friends, Payson, used to love watching you on TV."

"Well, that was a long time ago. But thanks and congratulations on the National Championship. You were pretty flawless in the second half."

"Ok, enough of the kiss-ass. Seriously, you're a guest here. And thanks to that record of yours, my dad installed security cameras. So don't get any ideas." Lauren said pushing her way past me out of the room.

"Well, she's pleasant." I said to Kaylie who laughed.

"Yeah, well that's our Lo. See you tomorrow Stephanie. It was nice meeting you." Kaylie said walking toward the door.

"You can call me Steph. And it was nice meeting you too." I said closing the door behind her.

I woke the next morning to a knock on my door.

"Steph? It's Kaylie. We have to get to The Rock." She said opening the door.

"Oh shit." I said standing up and rubbing my head. "The sun isn't even up yet. Gooooooood I hate gymnastics."

"Yeah well, Sasha hates when we're late. I'll make you a protein shake." She said laughing as she closed the door again. I quickly got dressed in yet another pair of short shorts and a ratty, neck-less t-shirt and threw pants and a hoodie over it before brushing my teeth, throwing my hair into a messy bun and walking out of my room toward the kitchen. Wherever the hell it was.

"Hey, thanks for making this for me." I said grabbing my shake from the counter when I finally found my way to the kitchen.

"No problem. It's wheat grass, strawberry banana." Kaylie said laughing as the look on my face grew more disgusted.

"Just try it, it's good." She said. So I did, and it was. Surprise, surprise.

"We're going to be late! Oh, good morning Steph. I was just coming up to wake you." Summer said stopping her rush when she spotted me.

"Yeah, Kaylie woke me." I said raising my cup to her in a mock salute.

"And made you a shake I see. Thanks Kaylie. That was very thoughtful of you." Summer said smiling at Kaylie, who was beaming from the praise. "Ok, let's go. Where's Lauren?"

"In the car with Steve." Kaylie said as we grabbed our bags walked toward the door.

The ride over to The Rock was, in a word, awkward. Lauren was whining about how she couldn't get a trick on her floor routine and Kaylie was pretending to listen, nodding and commenting at the right times. I could tell she had heard this from Lauren before. I could also tell that it was going to be a long day. The sun was barely up and apparently coffee was a big no-no with these people. When we finally pulled into a parking spot, I jumped out of the backseat before Steve had even put the car in park.

"Have a good day girls! We'll be back after lunch!" I heard Summer yell from the passenger seat.

"So you're the new girl." I turned and saw the men's National Champion, Austin Tucker standing against the door frame grinning at me.

"Yeah." I said noncommittally.

"I'm Austin Tucker. You know, from the sign outside? I'm famous." He said taking a few steps toward me in the process.

"Give it a rest Tucker." A female voice said behind me.

"Oh Keeler, how I've missed your beautiful face!" He said making his way over to her and giving her a loud, smacking kiss on her cheek.

"You should be training not harassing the new girl. Hi, I'm Payson Keeler." She said pushing her hand out toward me. What was with this place and the hand shake? Don't they understand personal space?

"Steph Moore." I said staring at her hand.

"Why are you just standing out here? You can't afford to lose the training time. Especially you Moore." Sasha said, sticking his head out the door. I rolled my eyes and followed the other robots into the gym where I stripped down to my shorts and t-shirt and started stretching.

"So, have you been sufficiently wooed?" Payson asked, joining me.

"Oh yeah. I'm all in a tizzy." I said in a fake southern accent rolling my eyes at her.

"Yeah well Austin can be charming." She said, stretching out her back. I had heard that she had broken it the year before but honestly, she showed no signs of it now except for the scar that peeked up over the top of her leo.

"I'm used to charming. Doesn't faze me much anymore." I said standing up and stretching my already sore muscles.

"So Sasha was pretty brutal huh?" She said taking in my bruises and cuts unsurprised.

"Uh no. You know, it wasn't so bad. I've been through worse." I said, fingering the pendant that sat in its place against my throat. Most days, I barely knew it was there. But today, it felt like it was on fire.

"We all have." She said looking around the room and the other elite gymnasts in the room.

"Ok ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round." Sasha said and they all did it. Just that simple and they all jumped like little lost puppies trying to get someone to take them in. Pathetic. I walked over sullenly with my arms crossed over my chest. "Today is Saturday so you have tomorrow off. But I wanted to encourage you all to do something productive. You really don't want your bodies to get out of the habit of training, even if it's just for one day. So get up, do something. Go, train. Moore, stay." He said. I kept walking, I'm not a frickin' dog for God's sake.

"Stephanie Moore." He said following me now. I turned around and looked at him expectantly. "I just wanted to make sure you're feeling alright. Because, no offense, you look awful."

"Yeah well, that's what happens when you have a pushy British guy yelling at you all day and no coffee in the morning. Who lives like this?" I asked through my teeth.

"You do. Now anyway. So get used to it sunshine. Coffee's bad for you." He said, taking a big gulp from his mug. When I rolled my eyes, he lifted up his cup and said, "Not coffee. I only drink tea. It's better for energy stimulation."

"Yeah, well there's better ways to stimulate energy." I said.

"That's what she said!" I heard Austin yell from across the room.

"Get back to work Tucker!" Sasha yelled at him. "You too. Start where we ended yesterday. You'll be staying late again tonight." He said looking at me like he was expecting an argument.

"Fine." I said. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Yet.

So, there's chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed it. Again, I'm open for any suggestions or (constructive) criticism you have for me =D Thanks again, Alli.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! So, I know it's been forever since I updated last. I apologize. I have no excuses. Anyway, here's chapter 3. Hope you like it! OH yeah, by the way, I meant to fix the first chapter but the day Steph arrived at The Rock was Friday not Monday. Sorry for any confusion!

"Does he really hate me this much?" I asked plopping down next to my new pseudo friends, Payson Keeler and Austin Tucker, who were sitting on the mats swapping parts of their lunches like 5th graders.

"No. He just wants you to do well." Payson said while Austin just said, "Yes" at the same time.

"Thank you Austin. No, really, I've never done so many walkovers and cartwheels in my life. I've never longed to practice on the bars in my life. Those four inches of wood are killing me." I said, showing off more bruises I had gotten.

"Ha, that's what she said." Austin said earning him a smack in the head from Payson.

"Just be patient. He won't be like this for long. He's brutal but he's not cruel."

"Easy for you to say, you're perfect Payson. He gets this goofy grin whenever he sees you start a routine. I, on the other hand, seem to be just a pain in his ass." I said as another brunette came over and sat down on Austin's other side, completing our circle.

"Hey Em, this is Steph Moore. Steph Moore, Emily Kmetko." Payson said, gesturing between us.

"Hey." She said shyly.

"Hey."

"So Pay, I was thinking we should invite Steph out with us tonight. It's her second night in Boulder and I doubt Lauren was much help showing her around last night." Austin said, taking a swig from Emily's water bottle.

"That's fine. What do you say Steph?"

"Yeah, come on New Girl." Austin taunted.

"Oh, I don't want to tag along on your date. You guys go ahead." The minute I said the words, I regretted them. Austin spewed his water all over the mat, Payson started choking on her sandwich and Emily started laughing hysterically.

"Oh my God, are you ok?" I started pounding on Payson's back as Sasha poked his head out of his office.

"You think WE'RE dating?" Payson asked, finally catching her breath.

"Well, I just assumed. Wrong?" I asked innocently.

"Dead wrong. That would be like dating my obnoxious little sister. So, so, so wrong on so, so, so many levels." Austin said as he mopped up the water with a napkin.  
"Then sure, I would love to hang out with guys. As long as it gets me out of the Tanner Mansion, I'm all for it. What did you have in mind?"

"Oh you'll see. It'll be fun, I promise. What time do you get out of here tonight?" Austin asked, throwing his napkin at Payson.

"I don't know. Whenever Sasha the Terrible lets me go I guess."

"I'll write down my cell number for you and when you're done, we'll swing by and get you and you can change and stuff before we go." Payson said, writing her number down on another napkin and handing it to me.

"You're in for a bumpy ride Steph Moore," Austin said evilly. I probably should've been scared. But I wasn't. There was something about this place, these people that already, after being here barely 24 hours, made me feel safe.

"So, do you, like, hate me or what?" I asked Sasha once everyone else was gone for the night and we sat on the mat so he could stretch out my rusty knees.

"What?" He grunted while I pushed against him slightly.

"Do you hate me or what? You barely spoke to me all day and when you did, all you did was yell. Last night, you talked about how we're family but you're not making me feel very welcome Sasha. I feel more like the ugly step kid that no one actually wants," I said, feeling a knot in my throat. I tried to swallow it back down, but I felt a tear prick my eye, I wiped it away quickly, before he had the chance to notice.

"No, I don't hate you. I think you're undisciplined and ungrateful, but I don't hate you. I actually think we could get along very well if you stopped the constant sarcastic bitching and actually worked at having a relationship with anyone. You're problems are only skin deep Steph. You despise authority and competition, unless the game is played on your terms. But I will give you one thing, what you lack in discipline, you make up for with a passion that I don't think you've even begun to use yet. You could be an amazing gymnast if you actually worked at it," He said moving to the other leg.

"I am working at it," I gestured to the bruises and cuts littering my arms and legs.

"Sure, physically. But you really don't have the mentality to match it yet," He put his hand out and I grabbed it so we could help each other stand.

"You're wrong though. My problems aren't only skin deep," I said, walking toward the vault to make a pass. I ran toward the horse and powered over it only to land on my butt mid flip.

"Damn it!" I yelled rubbing my tailbone.

"Come on; let's go get you some ice," He said, offering me a hand and keeping it lightly on my lower back, guiding me toward the medical room.

"What did you mean by that?" Sasha asked, helping onto the table and going to grab the ice pack.

"By what?"

"That your problems aren't only skin deep. What could you possibly be going through at 17 years old that's so awful?" He asked, placing the ice pack on my back and pushing me to lay back.

"Well, I AM a delinquent," I joked as he sat on the edge of the table staring at me, waiting for an honest answer.

"Ok, fine. See this necklace? It belonged to my older sister Danielle. She died when I was 14," I said showing him the pendant around my neck.

"It's beautiful. How did she die? If you don't mind me asking."

"Car accident. She had just gotten her license a couple weeks before and she was supposed to come watch me compete at World's. But on the way, some guy came straight through a red light and hit her on the driver's side. They say she didn't feel any pain. Her neck snapped before any real damage could be done. She was my best friend, you know? She taught me how to ride a bike because my dad was always working and my mom was never around. She took me shopping, even when we had to walk to the mall. She did all the girly stuff with me that you're supposed to do with your mom. No matter what was going on in her life, she was always there for mine. She never missed a competition and she would come to the gym when she got out of school everyday to watch me practice. She was supposed to teach me how to drive but since she wasn't around, I never even got my license. I have a permit but I've been too scared to get behind the wheel," I said, feeling the knot in my throat again.

"I'm so sorry Steph. I had no idea," He put his hand on my knee and rubbed circles with his thumb on my kneecap.

"Thanks. I guess my biggest fear is just disappointing her, you know? Like she's watching from somewhere, wanting to jump out and kick my ass for acting like such an idiot these past few years. All I wanted to do was make her proud and the moment I actually could've, she missed because of some stupid guy who couldn't watch what he was doing," At this point, I had begun to really cry. Sasha grabbed onto me and hugged to his chest, letting me cry for what seemed like ages.

"God, I'm a mess." I pulled away from him and started wiping at my eyes.

"Oh your shirt! I'll buy you a new one."

"No, don't worry about. It's just a shirt." He helped me up onto my feet and we walked quietly out to the gym.

"You're dismissed for tonight. I want you back here tomorrow, 10am sharp."

"What? Tomorrow's Sunday. My one day off?"

"So sleep for a few hours, come back and we'll get to work again. Oh and wear street clothes," He said, walking up to his office to grab his stuff and turn off the lights.

"Fine, 10am it is. Thank you Sasha. For listening and everything." I grabbed Payson's number and my cell phone out of my bag, and walked toward the lobby.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey Payson, its Steph. I'm done at The Rock."

"Ok, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Ok, bye," I said, but she had already hung up.

"Did you call Summer?" Sasha asked about 10 minutes later, walking up behind me and making me jump.

"Jeez Sasha, you scared the crap out of me. No, I actually have a ride. They should be here any minute," I said just as Payson and Austin pulled in.

"Hey Steph! Sasha, I hope you didn't work her too hard," Austin said from the drivers' seat of his Escalade.

"Of course not Tucker. You kids have fun," He said smiling at me before walking toward the trailer at the edge of the parking lot. I watched him walk away before getting into the backseat.

"To the Tanners?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, I have to shower. I stink," I said, making them laugh.

We pulled into the Tanner's house a few minutes later and Payson and I went toward the front door.

"Steph? Is that you?" Summer asked coming in from the kitchen.

"Yeah Summer. I'm going out with Payson tonight. I just came by to change and drop my stuff off," I said trying to move past her toward the stairs.

"Sasha called and said he wanted you at the gym at 10am tomorrow. So make sure you get home in time to get some sleep ok?"

"Yeah, thanks Summer." I walked up the stairs quietly bitching at Payson about Summer having called this place my home. That was an awful thought to me. I showered quickly and walked into my closet.

"Payson? What should I wear?" I asked pulling her into the closet with me. She looked around for a minute before handing me a pair of skinny jeans, a purple strapless shirt, a sweater and a pair of boots. I thanked her and got dressed. I put on some make up and blow dried my hair, leaving it curly before we left.

"Damn. You look hot Moore," Austin said checking me out as we walked toward his truck.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said cockily getting in the backseat.

Sooooo, that's all for now. I have more but the chapter was getting pretty long and I felt like I was rushing a lot of it so, I'll post more soon. I hope that the story with Steph's sister feels real enough. I'll probably go into it more later but for now, I just kind of wanted to skim the surface of it and let you all know why Steph is the way she is and why she did what she did. So, let me know what you think! I appreciate and constructive criticism that you have for me! Thanks, Alli.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok, so I know that the last chapter pretty much sucked but I'm hoping this one will make up for it? Hopefully? Here it is either way =]._

"THIS is where we're going?" I asked, looking at the structure in front of me, "It's a house. I thought you were taking me to club or something."

"Hey! Club Austin is the best club you will EVER go to. Guaranteed," Austin said, pulling me out of the back seat and onto my feet. I looked down either side of the street at the lines of cars. Expensive cars. A few that I recognized from The Rock parking lot but most of them just unknown Mercedes and BMW's that blurred together.

"Fine." I began walking toward the front of the house before Payson grabbed my arm, gently pulling me back.

"If you get too bored, I'll take you back to the Tanner's. I'm not drinking and Austin tends to get a little wild so come find me when you're ready ok?"

"Ok." Payson struck me as the mother hen type from the beginning. From the moment I had met her that morning, she always had a watchful eye on everyone she cared about, especially Austin. There was definitely something going on between the two of them and from that moment on, I made it my mission to get them together.

The door was hanging open when we got to it and Austin immediately started greeting his guests the minute we walked through it.

"Drink?" He asked, handing me a red solo cup full of beer. I accepted it, even though I never really liked the taste of beer. All I wanted to do was forget everything about this stupid situation and have some fun. There's nothing more elating to me than dancing. The minute I hit the floor, there's no stopping me until the music stops. I don't care if I have a partner or am making a total fool of myself. As long as there's music, I dance. Or in tonight's case, I dance AND drink. Stupid combo? Probably. Should I care? Probably. But did I? Nope.

"Steph, I think you should slow down." Payson said a couple hours later grabbing the sixth red solo cup from my hand and replacing it with a bottle of water.

"Why? I'm having fun! Aren't you having fun Payson?" I asked dancing toward her, laughing.

"Yes, I am. But I'm not going to have a hangover in the morning. And if you stop now, neither will you." She said, pulling me to the edge of the living room, into a room where it was quiet.

"I don't care about being hung over. I'm having fun." I grabbed my arm, and my drink away from her.

"Steph, you have to train tomorrow. Sasha is going to piss bricks if you come to the gym like this."

"I don't care. I hate him. He's pretentious and rude. I don't know how he did it, but he made me talk to him about my sister, who I never talk about. Now, he thinks he knows me, but he doesn't. No one does. Well, except for Brad and Sarah. And Dani, she knew me too. Oh, Dani was my sister!" I slurred into my cup as I downed the rest of it.

"You don't hate him. Yes, he is pretentious and a little rude, but he's a good guy. And if you gave him five minutes of your time where you were actually being nice, you might see that. And we'll be talking about your sister too. When you're sober and actually want to talk to me about it." Payson said, making me drink some water.

"Sure! I loved my sister. She died. This was hers!" I showed her the pendant on my neck but pulled on the chain too hard, breaking it.

"Shit. We'll get you a new one ok?" She said, bending over and picking it up.

"NO! That one was hers! It's irreplaceable!" I sobbed, putting my arms around Payson's neck and hugging her.

"It's ok." She said soothingly, rubbing circles on my back.

"No, it's not." I pulled away and walked back out to the party, grabbing another drink on my way, planning to get more wasted than I had originally planned.

"Wake up Sleeping Boozy!" Someone purred into my ear.

"Austin, shut up! You're just going to make it worse." A second voice whispered.

"You're both making it worse. Shut up!" I mumbled, putting a pillow over my head to muffle out the talking.

"Steph, its 9:30. You have to be at The Rock soon." Voice number two said. Sounded motherly, must be Payson, I thought to myself pulling the pillow off my head and groaning as the sunlight filled my swollen eyes.

"I hate gymnastics." I said opening one eye slowly, then the other.

"We know. You wouldn't shut up about it last night." Austin said from across the room, where I spotted him and Payson sitting at a little table, drinking what looked like coffee and sharing the Sunday paper. Payson swapped him her Lifestyle section for his Sports section without even looking up from her coffee cup. They reminded me of an old married couple. I turned over onto my back and was startled to see a startled and completely hung over looking me staring back.

"I'm sorry, why on earth do you have a mirror on your ceiling? You're even more of a perv than I thought you were" I asked Austin, attempting to sit up.

"One of my buddies who stays here a lot decorated this room. It's technically his. You passed out in here last night." He said laughing, both of them finally looking up.

"Figures that I would pick the room with the skeevy vibe radiating off of it to pass out in."

"There's Tylenol and water next to you. Take two and drink lots. Though you're doing a lot better than I thought you would be this morning." Payson said, walking over to sit next to me.

"What happened?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Well, once you polished off your tenth cup of beer, you moved on to hard liquor. Let's just say that you got a long pretty well with Jack." Austin said, coming to sit on my other side.

"Oh God. How bad was it?"

"Not that bad. You were singing and dancing. You attempted to make out with some guy but Pay and Em pulled you away and distracted you with something shiny." I threw myself backward to lie down and immediately regretted it when the mirror above my head started spinning.

"You were the life of the party." Payson attempted weakly.

"Thanks. And now, I have to go face Sasha looking like a 50 dollar hooker. Great."

"Don't worry Steph… You look like you're worth at least a few bucks more." Austin joked, patting my leg.

"Shut up Austin, you're not helping. You can shower and stuff before we take you over there if you want. I have some clothes here you can borrow. You'll be fine." Payson said reassuringly.

"Thanks. I should probably do that. Where?" I asked, getting up slowly.

"I'll show while Austin cleans up." Payson said, shooting Austin a death glare for not even attempting to be helpful.

"So, fresh towels are here. Just leave them on the floor when you're done. Louisa will be here in a couple of hours to clean. Your jeans seem ok to wear again. I don't think mine would fit you anyway since you're so tall. Here's a clean shirt. All of my shower stuff is in there so feel free to use whatever you want. I'll wait for you in here if you want." She said as we walked in Austin's gigantic master bathroom.

"I'm sorry, are you two sleeping together? I know you're not dating so that seems like the only other option." I said looking around.

"No, we're just super close. I stay here all the time." She said laughing. I got into the shower and stripped down, tossing out the dirty clothes.

"That's so strange. How is it possible that you two aren't like, married or something? You remind me of my grandparents; all cute and stuff. And the awesome thing is, you're kids would be so talented! And super hot too!" I started the shower and started wetting my hair to wash it.

"Oh Lord. We would kill each other! We spend so much time together now that if we spent anymore, I really think one of us would be dead. We fight all the time." She said, laughing.

"That's the pent up passion and lust for each other. If you slept together, it would stop. I swear it would."

"We tried that for awhile. Just sleeping together. It didn't work out."

"What? When?" I asked, in awe that she was divulging something this big to me when she had barely known me a day.

"A few months ago. Sasha left us and I went into self destruct. He told Kaylie he was in love with her and after she got out of the hospital, she told him she just wanted to be friends and he was doing the same. So our paths crossed one night at Club Austin and we hooked up. A lot. Here, at my house with my parents in the next room, at The Rock where anyone could've walked in. And then we decided that maybe it would be better for both of our sanity to stop. To just keep it friendly. So, we've been just friends ever since. It's too risky to be more than that. There's the no dating rule and then the endless parade of Austin's skanks. Who he tells he has a girlfriend to keep them from calling him. And then there's Kaylie who would be crushed." I turned off the shower and wrapped myself and my hair in a towel before stepping out.

"Oh come on. Those are just excuses. This could end in an epic love story Pay. It could be great!" I said starting to dry off after she walked toward the bedroom.

"Yeah, it could be. But we're just not there yet. Now it would just be a string of endless drama resulting in heartbrokenness for both parties involved. And I love him too much for that." She said.

"Oh my GOD! Does he know how you feel?" I shrieked, practically decapitating my self with my towel.

"Yes, he does. And he feels the same. But we're both too invested in our gymnastics to have time for a real relationship you know? It's just too complicated right now. So we're waiting until after the Olympics."

"You have to be kidding me! Pay! It's not like Sasha is going to kick out his two best gymnasts." I said putting on the shirt and pulling the towel off of my head.

"You don't know that. He could." I walked out to find her sitting on the bed with Austin's sweatshirt crinkled in her hands, her face buried in it.

"Because being kicked out would leave you so much worse off than you are now? You're miserable! It's not like you have to go public with it either. This friendship thing the two of you have is basically like you're together anyway so just keep going the way you are just with the added smooching and 'I love you'." I said putting my hands on my hips and staring at her.

"We say we love each other all the time." She smiled.

"That's slightly pathetic." I said, walking back to the bathroom to use the extra toothbrush she had handed me. Still in the package and everything, with a little tube of toothpaste Scotch taped to it. Apparently Club Austin was also known as Hotel Austin plenty as well.

"It is. But it works for us for now. To get us to 2012." I finished brushing my teeth in silence then put my boots back on.

"Ready?" Austin asked when we walked back toward the living room a few minutes later.

"Yeah." Payson said, closing the space between then and hugging him close. He placed a kiss on her forehead and closed his eyes.

"God. Just get married already will you? Save us all the heartbreak!" I sighed and put my sweater on before grabbing my purse and digging my phone out of it.

"8 missed calls and 6 texts. I'm popular. Summer x4. Sasha x2. I'm sorry, x4 as well. Who knew he texted? Tanner house x2. Summer x2 more. OH! Sarah!" I said mostly to myself.

"Yeah, I called Summer for you last night to tell her you were staying with me so those were probably before I did." Payson said pulling her self from Austin's arms and grabbing her bag.

"Huh, yeah." I checked the voicemails from Summer, who was flipping out before Payson called her. Then one from Sasha.

"Steph, its Sasha. Summer just called me and she's freaking out. You should call her so she stops waking me up in the middle of the night. See you in the morning."

There were two texts from Sarah in my inbox that read

'Hey whore. You've been AWOL since you left. Call me!'

And, 'Hey bitch! You didn't tell me your coach was such a fox! GET SOME!'

And also two from Sasha from this morning.

'See you at 10am right? Street clothes please!'

And, 'I hope that since you're not answering me with something sarcastic that it means you're getting ready and not still sleeping correct? Give me peace of mind and answer me please.'

I hit reply and said, 'Yes, I'm awake. On my way momentarily. Please pull the leo from your ass and relax? See you soon.'

"Are you ready?" Payson asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." I said. My phone vibrated again and I looked at the text.

'Just get your cheeky ass here and stop being a pain.' I laughed and walked toward the car.

Ok, so that's chapter 4. The next chapter should be pretty awesome I hope. And up soon as well! Let me know what you think! Thanks, Alli.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello to anyone who's still reading this haha. Sorry it's been forever since I've updated this. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for it ;)

"So why did Sasha tell you to wear street clothes?" Austin asked, pulling out onto the main road toward The Rock.

"Hell if I know. Probably another form of torture. He probably woke up and thought, 'Hey, why don't I make Steph condition in her jeans tomorrow?' He's an evil, evil man Austin." I said, rolling my eyes and responding to Sarah messages.

"He's not evil. Just a little… unorthodox in some of his teaching methods. He really does have your best interest at heart Steph. Just give him some time." Payson said reaching over to grab Austin's outstretched hand.

"You two are sickeningly adorable. Can I just mention again how totally hot and talented your children will be?"

"Mention it again? Where was I when this conversation was happening?" Austin asked.

"Cleaning up after me." I said sticking my tongue out at him in the rearview mirror. We sat in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the gym. It's funny, even with my friends back home, I never felt comfortable with silence. It was always awkward and I felt like I had to fill it with something sarcastic. But with these people, I was comfortable with it. I was comfortable with myself for the first time in years.

"Are you going back to the Tanner's tonight or are you staying with us again?" Payson asked as we pulled into the Rock parking lot.

"I don't know. I'll call you though?" I asked.

"Yeah, just give me a call when you're done and we'll pick you up, either way."

"Notice how she's offering rides in MY car with MY gas." Austin scoffed.

"Yeah, shut up. Bye Steph. See you later." Payson said, pushing Austin's head, who waved at me.

"Bye guys." I laughed and pushed my door open.

"Right on time. Good morning." Sasha said, handing me a thermal coffee cup.

"Yup. Thanks." I took a big drink, expecting coffee. And then coughed when I realized it was tea.

"Guess I should've warned you. Sorry. Get in." Sasha said, unapologetically as he pointed to his truck.

"Huh? Why? Where are we going? Does Summer know about this?"

"Because I said so, I'm not telling you and yes, she does. Now come on, we're going to be late." He said opening the passenger side door for me.

"Late for what?" I asked but climbed up into the truck anyway.

"I already told you, I'm not telling you." He said, getting into the driver's seat and taking a big gulp of his tea.

"You're cranky in the morning." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window.

"I'm not cranky. You just ask too many questions. And when you don't get the answer you want, you just pry or skulk until you do." Ok, so he had my pegged. But he didn't need to know that.

"I do not."

"You do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too! And I'm not arguing with you about this like a five year old. Good Lord! You're like a bloody child!" He exclaimed, clearly getting frustrated with me.

"I told you that you were cranky."

"I am not."

"You are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am no- Gah! Stop that!" He sent me a glare while I smiled angelically in the seat next to him.

"So, where are we going?" I asked again.

"Just do me a favor and sit there quietly? I can't handle you this early in the morning." I laughed at him and reached forward to click the radio on.

"What are you doing?" He asked, switching it off.

"Oh come on Sasha. If I have to sit here quietly, why does it have to be completely silent? It freaks me out!" I whined.

"The radio is broken. I have to get a new antenna installed. It just comes in all crackly."

"Then here, plug in my ipod." I said, fishing it out of my purse.

"No. Just please, sit there quietly. We're almost there."

"And where, exactly, would 'there' be?" I asked, now trying to be annoying.

"How was Austin's last night?" He asked, ignoring me and clearly changing the subject.

"Fine. Boring mostly."

"Steph, I'm not stupid. I know what goes on over there. You don't have to lie. Did you have fun?"

"It was alright. I broke Dani's pendent though. Need to get a new chain."

"Really? I'm sorry Steph. We can stop on the way back to get one if you'd like. The mall isn't too far away." He offered.

"That would be great. Except for the fact that I don't have any money." I laughed bitterly.

"We'll figure something out."

"Why Coach Belov! Are you encouraging one of your team members to steal?" I asked, feigning being astounded.

"Uh, no. We'll figure out getting you a new chain. I can pay for it and you can pay me back."

"That's really nice of you. Thanks."

"No problem. Will you tell me about her?"

"Who?" I asked stupidly, I knew who he meant. I just wasn't sure I was ready to give him full disclosure on my past.

"Your sister. You've told me a little bit. You don't have to if you don't want to." He said apologetically.

"No, it's ok. Dani was my best friend. She practically raised me. Our mom was more of a, self proclaimed, trophy wife. They were high school sweethearts and got married the day after graduation. Partially because they we're in love but mostly because my mom was pregnant and didn't want to tell their parents. Apparently her parents we're really old-fashioned. Anyway, Danielle came a few months later. My dad's father had passed away a month before she was born and left my dad a bunch of money so my mom forced him to buy a huge house with a bunch of useless crap in it. And when my dad got his law degree and passed the bar, he continued adding to the bank account and my mom continued spending. Getting ahead of myself. Anyway, I was born 2 years after Dani. An accident, on my mom's part anyway. She told him when they got divorced that she was planning on leaving before she got pregnant again but didn't trust him to raise us by himself. Granted, he did a much better job by himself then she did while she was around. But yeah, Dani was the one who would make us breakfast in the morning and she would help me get dressed and she taught me how to braid my hair and how to ride a bike and how to put on make up. All the stuff your mom is supposed to teach you. When I started school, some kids were making fun on me on the playground for being small and Dani came up and punched one of the boys who were messing with me. We had each other's backs. When our parents would fight, I would go to her room and sleep in her bed with her. I felt safe and secure. There was never a time in my life where I doubted how much she loved me. She was the only one who supported my gymnastics because I loved it. My parents just saw it as their, I mean my, golden ticket. That's why my dad pushed so hard to get me into The Rock. He still believes that I'm going to the Olympics and that I'm going to succeed and be his little star. Which I never wanted to be. Dani understood that. She was proud of me just because I was her little sister and I was doing something I loved. And when our parents got divorced, I stopped loving it as much. I was 12 so she was 14. It just sucked all the fun out of everything because my parents were both so bitter and angry. So instead of channeling my anger and being better, I just stopped trying. It was kind of a miracle that I made it to World's, to be honest. I wanted to quit but my dad wouldn't let me. And then when Dani died, he felt that I had made a fool of myself, and him, so he didn't push me to go back. Until now." As I finished, I took another drink of my tea and looked at Sasha who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"It sounds like you blame yourself for a lot of what's happened in your life Steph."

"That's it? That's all you have to say after I tell you my entire life story? That I blame myself? Hell yeah I blame myself. If I hadn't been so eager to please my dad, I would've quit gymnastics and Dani never would've gotten into that car accident and she would still be here." Now I was getting angry. He had no right.

"It wasn't your fault Steph. She would've gotten hurt either way. And I'm sure you would still be sitting right where you are now, telling me your life story and yelling at me for not responding the way you think I should. Do you want me to say that I'm sorry? Because I am. I'm sorry that you've gone through so much. I'm sorry that you feel like your sister was the only person that loved you and now that she's gone, you feel like you have no one. I know what that's like Steph, I've been there."

"Really. Well thank you for the insight Dr. Phil." I said sarcastically, drawing my feet up under me in the seat and crossing my arms over my chest again.

"Great, now we're back to the sarcasm. One day, you're going to learn that you don't always have to live life on the defensive. There's going to be someone that comes along in your life that's going to love you more than you ever thought possible. And it won't matter that you're sarcastic, and rude, and hard. All that's going to matter is that you're you. And he's going to love you irregardless of whether or not you want him to."

"How is it that you never really say much but when you do, it's like, deep, profound crap that makes me want to cry?" I asked, wiping at a tear.

"Because I'm older, and wiser. And I've been exactly where you are. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a woman like that but I'm sure she'll come soon enough. People will love you Steph. You just have to let them." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. We pulled into the parking lot of a high school and I looked him like he was nuts.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?"

"Just come on." He got out of the car and walked around to open my door and help me out of the truck. We walked inside a building labeled as the gym and were immediately bombarded by an older, quieter, man and a younger, very enthusiastic woman. The man looked to be in his late 40's or early 50's had long, silver hair pulled back into a pony tail at the nape of his neck and an ear ring. And the woman, who looked to be about 40, had even longer brown hair that waved down her back with the most sincere brown eyes and smile I had ever seen.

"Sasha! So good to see you! And you must be Steph! I'm Meredith and this is my husband, Jack. How are you?" The woman asked, pulling Sasha into a hug and then me as she spoke.

"Mere! It's great to see you too. We're doing great. How are you sir?" Jack shook Sasha's hand and then moved to mine and gave my hand a firm shake.

"I'm great Sasha. You're late."

"Yes, I know. Just a few minutes. Let's get started. When are your girls supposed to arrive?" Sasha asked, looking a little sheepish. There was something different about how he was with Jack and Meredith. A little less rough.

"Any minute now, they're just finishing a run. Why don't you and Jack go look over the board and I'll show Steph around." Meredith said, pulling me away as Sasha and Jack made their way over to a white board with what looked to be stats and DOD's on it.

"Those two connect more with their eyes than they do their words. I swear they could have a conversation without saying a word!" Meredith laughed.

"What is this place? I've never seen a gym like this in a high school." I said looking around at the crappy equipment.

"Well, we're just you're average high school in Colorado. We have a gymnastics team and they're feeling less than motivated. Jack and I have tried everything. But when Sasha called about you, we knew that you could help them."

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"Sasha called me late Friday night and asked if you could come observe a practice or two and Jack suggested that you help coach for the day. Didn't Sasha tell you any of this?" She asked, looking toward Sasha disapprovingly.  
"Uh no. He didn't say a word." I rubbed my suddenly throbbing temples slowly, hoping to massage the pain away. Sadly, it did no good. In fact, it got worse no more than a minute later when 15, sweaty and tired teenage girls came screeching into the gym.

"Mere! It's so freakin cold out there!" Yelled a short blonde who reminded me a lot of Lauren.

"Tiffany, I told you to wear clothes didn't I? I also told you that I didn't want to hear it when you came in here freezing your ass off didn't I?" Meredith said, walking toward the group of girls. I walked silently toward Sasha and stood next to him while Meredith and Jack talked to the girls and they helped each other stretch.

"Why didn't you tell me this is where we were going?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest again.

"Because, I knew you wouldn't come if I told you and it's important to your training to be here. You could learn something from these girls."

"Like what? How to break my neck on unstable equipment?"

"Nope. Like how to love the sport again and actually work at your training just because you want to. Not because you want to go to the Olympics or please your family. Or, get your criminal record expunged."

"That was a low blow and you know it." I said as the girls all sat back down to listen to Meredith and Jack explain why Sasha and I were there.

"Ok ladies, listen up! This is Sasha Belov and Stephanie Moore. They're here to help coach today. If you have any questions or need any help, you find one of these two." Jack said.

"Yes sir" they all said in unison and then got up and headed in opposite directions.

"He has a lovely way with words." I said sarcastically to Sasha.

"He's also been a coach for 35 years Steph. What's your excuse?" He asked before walking away, leaving my ego slightly stung.

"Excuse me? Stephanie?" The blonde from earlier, Tiffany, said coming up behind me.

"Yeah?"

"Could you look at my vault and tell me if you can spot what I'm doing wrong? I'm trying to land a full twist but I can't seem to land on my feet."

"Sure." I said following her over to the vault, thoroughly impressed at the fact that she was pulling a full to begin with let alone that she was asking for help. If it had been me, I would've just figured it out on my own. She saluted toward imaginary judges before stepping onto the mat and glaring at the horse like it had talked bad about her mother. That was one problem I spotted right off. She took off toward it and powered over a little too hard before landing, on her ass, on the other side. She let out a frustrated grunt before standing and jogging over to me.

"K, well problem number 1, it's not the horses fault that you can't land on your feet so don't glare at it. Number 2, you're overdoing it completely."

"What do you mean?" Tiffany asked, cocking her head (and her hip, with a little attitude) to the side.

"You're running too fast and pushing off too hard. Basically, you're trying too hard to make it look good. Just back off a little bit and try not to attack it so much." She looked at me, obviously still confused.

"God, I'm going to have to show you aren't I?" I rolled my eyes and toed my shoes and socks off before making my way over to the mat.

"Think of the horse as your brother or sister. You have one?" I asked, pulling my hair up into a messy bun. She shook her head. "Boyfriend?" She nodded.

"K, well then think of it as your boyfriend. You get pissed and push him. Not enough to hurt him but enough to get your point across. If you push too hard, you're going to be icing your ass for the night. You don't push enough; you fall on your head. Here, watch." I shook out my muscles and saluted before stepping onto the mat and gauging my distance from the horse before running full force toward it and pushing myself off the top of it and twisting fully in the air before landing, on my feet, on the mat behind it.

"See?" I panted, walking back toward her and putting my shoes back on.

"Yeah, I think so. You mind watching one more time?" I nodded at her and she jogged off again. She made another pass this time, sticking her landing with the resounding, _thwack_, that made her and I both smile.

I nodded encouragingly at her before turning around, meeting a hard chest.

"Jeez Sasha, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked, pushing some hair off of my face.

"That was impressive. I never would have thought to use that kind of example." He said arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his lips.

"Yeah well. They probably don't have a no dating rule here." I said, mocking him a little bit while I pushed past him to help another girl.

* * *

"Steph, are you ready?" Sasha asked, walking up behind where I was talking to some of the girls.

"Yeah. It was great to meet you guys. I'll see you next week. Tiff, keep working on that full and Nora, just remember that the beam can't hurt you unless you fall." I made my final comments to the girls before waving and walking toward the office where I had stashed my bag earlier. I walked back out to where Sasha was standing talking to Mere and Jack and stood waiting for him.

"Steph! Thank you so much for all your help today! I think the girls are reaching a breakthrough!" Mere said (ok, more like squealed) before reaching over to hug me.

"It's no problem. I'm glad I could help." I laughed, returning her strangling hug.

"We'll see you both next week? Same time, same place." Jack said, extending his hand toward Sasha who shook it while nodding his head before putting his hand on my back and leading me outside.

"So, not as terrible as you thought it would be huh?" He asked, pulling my door open so I could get into the truck.

"I guess not. They're all borderline ADHD though. Need freakin' meds." I said, rolling my eyes a little at the frown he gave me as he closed my door.

"Just when I think we're getting past the sarcasm, you feel the need to degrade yourself with it again." He shook his head as he climbed in the driver's seat next to me.

"I don't find it degrading in the least. Sarcasm is an art form. One that I am very, very good at, might I add. Why would I not want to share such a gift with the world? It would be a crime Sasha." I smiled sweetly as he muttered something under his breath and rolled his eyes.

"Uh huh. Worse or better than breaking and entering?"

"Why do have to keep bringing that up? It's really starting to piss me off." I leaned over and smacked his arm a little harder than necessary.

"If you can be hateful, so can I. If you refuse to show respect for me, or yourself for that matter, then I can be just as disrespectful to you. Do you want to stop and get a new chain for your necklace?" He asked tensing his jaw.

"If you have time, then yes." I said, answering his question, "And I'm not being disrespectful. I'm telling it like it is. I'm sorry if you can't handle a little bit of truth."

"I can handle the truth. What I can't handle is your incessant need to argue with me. So please, just stop." He all but shouted, breathing a little hard.

"Fine." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and looking out the window.

"You know, watching you in there with the girls, you let down your guard. You were a normal 17 year old girl who loves gymnastics. It was breathtaking to see you comfortable in your own skin and smiling and laughing. I wasn't the only one who saw it so don't shake your heard. You let go for a little while and just had fun. It wouldn't kill you do that more often."

"I have fun. Probably more than you do."

"I mean doing something other than getting drunk and trying to make out with men you don't know. Yeah, Austin called me this morning while you were getting ready, said you had a rough night."

"Traitor", I muttered under my breath, "Either way, yeah, I was enjoying myself in there. A few years ago, I was exactly like those girls."

"What happened to her then? Maybe she would be a little easier to work with." He said the last part mostly to himself.

"Life happened Sasha. My parents got divorced, my sister died, my life as it was then, ended the day I put my sister in the ground. And I'll probably never be that girl again. This is what happens when people lose the only person that keeps them grounded."  
We pulled into the parking lot of the mall and found a parking spot before he turned to me and said, "Look, I know you lost someone important to you. But you're not the only one. Your parents lost a daughter, one who made up for everything the lacked in parenting you. Her friends lost someone that they love and I'm sure miss terribly. You've allowed yourself to wallow in this for the past 2 years Steph and it's not right. You need to let us help you. Me, Payson, Austin, Emily, your father, Mel, the Tanner's. You need to help yourself, most importantly."

Before I could reply, he was out of the car and walking around to open my door for me. He was right, I suppose. I had spent the last few years of my life pushing away the only people who ever wanted to be there for me. It's not like my dad was an awful parent. He had his priorities and I guess I had made it pretty clear that I didn't want to be one. Maybe if I had let him see what I was going through we could've gotten through it together. I silently pondered this as we looked at the silver chains in the jewelry department of JCPenny's. We found my chain a few minutes later and made our way up to the register to pay.

"Thank you Sasha." I said quietly, stringing the pendant back on before trying to latch the chain together on my neck.

"Here, I'll help you. It's not a problem." He said pushing my hair out of the way and taking the small chain out of my hands, he latched it together and his hands lightly brushed the back of my neck sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. I pushed my hair back and turned to him smiling faintly while looking down at the pendant now back in its rightful place.

"I felt so naked without it." I said laughing a little before looking up to meet his eyes, which were traveling down my body and back up.

"I'm sure you did. Hey, are you hungry? There's this amazing Chinese place up the road."

"Starving actually. But I'm not sure my coach would approve." I said, smiling at him.

"What he doesn't know won't kill him." He winked playfully and looked into my eyes. We maintained eye contact for a moment before he cleared his throat and walked toward the exit. Wait a second, were we just flirting? No. No, no, no. We hate each other. All we do is fight. And he's like 30. Well ok, he's only 28 but still. There's no way… Right?

"Hoooooooly crap." I muttered under my breath before following him outside.

* * *

K, so I totally get it if you want to kill me haha. But yeah, there's chapter 5. I'm really going to start trying to update this more frequently because I really do love this idea and I hope you do to? Reviews=love. And love=cookies. Well, virtual ones. Or whatever. Let's just leave it as virtual high fives . I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks, Alli.


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